Old bathing pool site on agenda at Monday meeting

PLANS for a beach pavilion in West Marina could soon be one step closer to reality.

A report to be presented at a council cabinet meeting on Monday (January 9) recommends that developers are granted a lease for land on the old bathing pool site in West Marina.

Subject to the necessary planning permission being granted, this would mean that the team behind the Lido Marina Pavilion come closer to realising their ambitious plans for redeveloping the site.

In a letter to the Observer, the Lido project team said: “Our vision is for Lido to become a cherished asset for the people of Hastings and St Leonards and act as a catalyst for the regeneration of West St Leonards.”

The £1.4million year-round venue, to be constructed using recycled shipping containers, would include a bar, restaurant, beach office (including public changing rooms and showers, and bike storage and hire), gardens for events and exhibitions, and car parking.

In the first meeting of its kind in Hastings, in November, the team presented their plans to councillors, local groups and interested parties, in a pre-planning forum, and received a largely positive response.

The application was submitted in December, and it is due to go before the planning committee in February. If funding is secured, and planning permission obtained, work will start in March, with the developers aiming for the beach-side venue to be open in June this year.

The Cabinet is to decide whether to grant a lease of seven years on the council-owned site, to West Marina Lido Ltd, a team of local business people.

The site has been vacant for 25 years, with Southern Water storage tanks now housed below ground level.